Nurses’ and Doctors’ Experiences of Transferring Adolescents or Young Adults With Long-Term Health Conditions From Pediatric to Adult Care: A Metasynthesis

Abstract

The transfer of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with long-term health conditions from pediatric to adult care is a multidisciplinary enterprise where nurses and doctors play an important role. This review aimed to identify and synthesize evidence from qualitative primary reports on how nurses and doctors experience the transfer of AYA aged 13 to 24 years with long-term health conditions to an adult hospital setting. We systematically searched seven electronic databases for reports published between January 2005 and November 2021 and reporting nurses’ and doctors’ experiences. We meta-summarized data from 13 reports derived from 11 studies published worldwide. Using qualitative content analysis, we metasynthesized nurses’ and doctors’ experiences into the theme “being boosters.” Boosting AYA’s transfer was characterized by supporting AYA’s and their parents’ changing roles, smoothening AYA’s transition from pediatric to adult care, and handling AYA’s encounters with a different care culture.